LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has received support for his bid to become Britain’s next prime minister from outgoing Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, considered a peacemaker by some and a terrorist by others.

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Gerry Adams believes Corbyn is an 'outstanding' politician and should be Britain's next PM

I think Jeremy is an outstanding politician and I hope my endorsement of him is not used against him in the time ahead

Gerry Adams

"He and (former London Mayor) Ken Livingstone and others kept faith and they were the people who said, when others said no, talk.

"They were the people who were open to conversation about how to deal with conflict and how to get conflict resolution processes."

Mr Livingstone is currently suspended from the Labour party following comments he made about anti-Semitism and Hitler.

The Labour leader and the shadow chancellor have faced repeated criticism over their past dealings with Sinn Fein, and Corbyn was forced to condemn the IRA’s bombing campaign during last year’s general election amid growing pressure to distance himself from the group.

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Corbyn and Adams pictured together in the Commons in 1995

Mr Adams also turned his attention to Brexit, reiterating his hopes for “an end to the British connection with Ireland”.

However, he warned Irish Republicans to be "very, very careful" that they are not seen to view the UK's "disastrous" departure from the EU as "something that can be exploited".

The 69-year-old once again denied ever being a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) but his legacy will divide opinion, with many considering him a hate figure who publicly justified murders carried out by the group during more than 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

However, others consider him a peacemaker after leading the republican movement away from its long, violent campaign towards peaceful and democratic means.

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Gerry Adams is one of the most controversial figures in Ireland's political history

He told Andrew Marr: "I would wish that no-one had been killed or injured in the course of the conflict.

"We were able to come to an alternative. When you come forward with an alternative, sensible people will embrace that alternative."

Asked why he did not join the IRA when he was growing up in Belfast, Mr Adams replied: "I've never distanced myself from the IRA."

He said: "I did defend the IRA but I also was very critical of what the IRA did at times. The Birmingham pub bombings were wrong, I condemned that as well."